Israel’s spirits on historic mission

By Jason Keyser, Jerusalem

For a few hours, Ilan Ramon, a 48-year-old air force colonel, pushed Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and a tedious election campaign off the front pages.

Yesterday’s tabloids published photos of Ramon in a bulky orange space suit with an Israeli flag sewn onto the shoulder beside a NASA patch. Headlines read, “A giant step for Israel” and “To touch the sky”.